Astoria Gardening

When I moved to Astoria from the Upper East Side, the biggest concern I had was how well I would be able to transplant my micro-gardening capabilities. Having a dedicated fire escape on the top floor of my previous apartment, I took for granted my small yet convenient space. Knowing that my new fire escape space was on a lower level in much higher visibility, I came to the realization that the practicality of having a garden out there was much riskier. After all, it was technically illegal (although if a couple planters actually kept somebody from maneuvering across a fire escape during an emergency, I would have to say that it was indeed their time to go).

So while sitting in the new landlord's office to sign my new lease, I casually asked him if I could put plants in the common outdoor space behind the apartments. "No" he responded. "Cats will dig up the dirt and clog the drains." At that point I realized I had just signed a lease of a building owned by a man who had no desire to entertain any activity that, despite what benefit it could bring, had the smallest ounce of potential to bring any minor theoretical aspect of risk, whatsoever. In other words, he sucked.

From there I figured I would ask if there were any community gardens in the area. "No," he answered abruptly. At that point I understood that he was also unsympathetic to urban gardening, meaning that he not only sucked as a person, but he was an evil human being (that is correct, unsympathetic to urban gardening = evil human being). Not wanting to be in the same room as such a terrible person, I ended the conversation and left his office. Having some time to kill, instead of taking the train home, I decided to walk down 31st Street to take in the new neighborhood. I soon walked by an old woman who appeared to be digging up some dirt behind some bushes in a small patch of exposed earth surrounded by an otherwise impermeanble hardscape. I figured maybe she would know if there were any gardens around, since she seemed to be the type. But when I approached the old woman and politely asked, "Excuse me mam..." she jumped up, startled. I continued, "I just moved to the neighborhood, and was wondering if you knew of any community gardens around." She continued to look at me, confused, and responded hesitantly in a thick accent, "I don know, I jus bury my dead bird." Fair enough. I went on my way, feeling very welcomed to Queens.

I eventually did find that community garden, but it is a rogue garden on private abandoned land, so I cannot describe it in fear of endangering its existence. But I never gave up the idea of gardening at home, no matter how restricted my space was. The less space I had the bigger the challenge. For a variety of reasons, I had to confine all of my window accessories to a single kitchen window, which included a small air conditioner. However, a hanging planter and one inside/outside self draining shelf later, this was the end result:

Booya! No I have fresh basil, rosemary, mint, and some other random decoratives within easy reach of my kitchen. Take that, loser landlord!

Garden Update

It's late August and the summer has brought a fair amount of excitement to the land of the fire escape. A view from below shows a summer of growth.

Much of the growth has been due to the wet summer we've had, and regular watering to offset the super hot days. Although, the rain has been hard to manage, especially for my compost when it comes in hard and sideways.

But most importantly I got fruit this year: Mostly cucumbers and peppers.

However the other day I found something peculiar. One of my tomato plants was gnawed to the stems. It was completely stripped.

After a quick investigation. I found the culprit.

A tomato hornworm. Turns out these are pretty damaging machines, as I had learned the hard way. Although fortunately for me, there are these braconid wasps out there who like to control the tomato hornworm population by laying their eggs on the worms and slowly eating out their insides. I didn't really believe it when I heard it until I looked out the window and saw it being done...twice...pretty intense sight to see.

But all in all, the garden is still well. If only I could grow some friggin broccoli...

Spring 2011 Garden

The garden is more or less complete for the season. I've expanded about 80% more than my previous year's surface area, now occupying more than half of the walkable area of the top level of the fire escape.

In here I have some Basil, Rosemary, Peas, a Pepper, a bunch of Fennel, Chamomile, 2 Easter Lilies, some cosmos and some duck foot ivy.

From left to right: in back in pots: Broccoli, Peppers, Chocolate Mint, random indoor plant, Sage; in middle planters: random stuff and String Beans, 4 each of Red and Green Bell, Cayenne and Jalapeno Peppers (that I got from Dad in Philly) , a Tomato Pot; Rain Catchment Bins; Compost...

To note is a funny "weed" I kept pulling out. It was obviously something that made it into my compost with a lot of seeds that eventually found themselves in pretty much everything I had planted for the past couple weeks. But I couldn't figure out what the darn thing was...

Yesterday morning I figured out what they were, as I was walking around a farmer's market in Madison, WI.

The plant caught my eye and I knew at once what had settled all over my garden. My roommate Dave had definitely put scrap zucchini in the compost bag, which had a whole bunch of seeds that would end up in the big compost bin and eventually get mixed in with soil to use. I'm going to get some of it growing in a pot or two and see if I can get some fruit out of it.

Pepper Party 3

I picked my first bell pepper. Since I started so late in the season I'll have to settle with a yellow one. That's the ripest it will get now that it's getting cold out. It was delicious though, nice and sweet...

As for my beautiful cayennes, I tried to dry one out in the toaster over but instead of drying it I...toasted it. 

Attempt #2 seems to be working. Just letting it hang out.

And as for the jalepenos, the late start caused me to yield only the smallest fruit that probably wont get much bigger at this point (except for that one I picked earlier)...

Oh well. But with the seeds I've saved from this years crop, and some better planning, I'm already looking forward to next spring.

The Perfect Marriage

My obsession with fire escapes really began the first time I had access to one. The best ones are obviously those that are accessible and usable for more than just egress. The architecture studio building in undergrad at Lehigh had several big ones, all large enough to house several gatherers be they smokers, chatters or what. The next victory was my second (and current at this time) apartment in NYC, as documented frequently in the past.

Today, however, I saw for one of the first times, a blatant marriage between fire escape egress and fire escape usable space:

This should be a precedent for ALL fire escapes in the city. A fire escape is a terrible thing to waste.

Visitor 2

Oh! Hey! Another visitor!

He came to admire my kalanchoe bean stalk.

Pepper Party 2

Recent pickings include the first cayenne I allowed to turn red and also my first jalapeno.

Both went to good use, ending up in a delicious quesadilla Eric made for at Exchange Bar & Grill.

Pepper Party 1

Out of the 3 types of baby pepper plants I brought to NYC from Papa Brock at home in Philly, the Cayenne has been the most productive. The first to bear fruit, it's also the first to be picked and used. You can, however, also see two little jalepenos on the left over there.

And what more could a guy ask for than to have his beautiful girlfriend then use that tasty pepper to make the most delicious heuvos rancheros ever?

I can't wait for the jalapeno.

Slow Fade

It's been over 3 months since I cut up the "compostable" Sun Chips bag and threw it in the bin. Seems to be no signs of breaking down. See the red arrow below.

Next update in 3 months.

Growing Garden

What's an herb garden without fennel? Nothing, I tell you, absolutely nothing.  Not only is it a feathery delightful snack, but it's perfect to sneak up on somebody and put it in their ear.  Try it...very addicting.

I have recently utilized the Gaia soil to help enhance efficiency.  Made of small pieces of recycled styrofoam cups coated in pectin, this airy mix weighs nothing when dry, yet retains insane amounts of water for extended use, reducing that much runoff. Who knew styrofoam cups could actually do some good in this world?

But look at what's going on at the north end of the fire escape! Vinca vine is trying to mimic english ivy, yearning for the relief of a cast iron arm rest.

Memorial Lily

How cute, my lily decided to bloom on Memorial Day. My worms are also feasting today on all of yesterday's organic leftovers. It's a circus in that bin, and Mr. Sage and Mr. Hosta are peeking in on the action. It makes my fire escape garden complete. Except for the tomatoes. Anybody want to donate a plant?

Back Outside

Although I had been tricked several other times during this deceiving spring, I think now the cold weather is finally gone for good. Therefor, it's time for good ol' compost bin to get back outside, where it belongs.

Now I actually have room to move around in my rolly desk chair next to my desk.

Compost Journey

Kate Zidar's class on Waste Management rekindled my hidden desire to compost things. The benefits of composting in a 4-story walkup apartment building in the city were surprisingly overwhelming. The diversion of smelly organics from a several day stay in our building's trash room at the bottom of the hallway was a major motivation, as was the constant food source for a hard working army of worms. It was these worms, however that helped me understand the true challenges of urban composing.

Prior to this year, my only experience with composting was in a back yard, with lots of space. Composting in plastic bins is a completely different animal, and there was a learning curve. I started with a plastic chinese food container with newspaper, random food scraps, coffee grinds and a small handful of worms Aurelia (from the union square LESEC compost stand) gave me. Our team upgraded to a few bigger bins as the compost mass increased steadily until currently occupying a 20 gallon bin. However, 2 colonies of worms suffered throughout the journey.

With the 10 gallon bin sitting in my kitchen with a vented lid, the smell was too noticible to keep as it was (even while excluding all meats and dairies). However, reducing the air vents provided an unexpected quick death to my worms, as their oxygen ran out. $11 got me another 1/2 lb. The solution to keep these ones alive was to move the bin out to the fire escape, as I could keep the lid off entirely. This seemed the perfect solution until the massive rains of the summer of '09 overflowed the bin on two occasions. The second occasion drowned my second colony of worms, as effectively draining my bin was more tedious than i thought, especially when the darn rain wouldn't stop! Covering the bin again was still a challenge as the water kept getting in. I needed a better setup.

I arrived at the following solution:

This worked perfectly, until of course the harsh December frosts posed a threat to the third colony of worms. I contemplated insulating my bin, maybe dropping the entire bin into a larger bin lined on the inside with a sandwiched blanket, but then another thought crossed my mind. Since I was bringing many of my outdoor plants inside to survive the cold, what if I also brought the bin back inside, keeping it both warm and accessible. I had blue polystyrene and 6" flex duct so I could keep it lidded with a passive exhaust out the window. It seemed crazy enough to try...

For the past month, the team has been doing great. The worms, right within view of the kitchen, wait patiently each day for their feeding. The only hurdle with this setup were the fruit flies, trapped inside the bin, but inevitably escaping when the bin was opened for feeding and stirrings. The solution, which has worked thus far, including spreading concentrated deltamethrin around the perimeter of the rim and brim of the bin, where the flies previously congregated. It worked immediately. It should be noted that deltamethrin should not come into contact with the compost matter nor human skin, as it is toxic and not for amateur use.

I currently have a steady enough flow and enough compost to occasionally re-pot certain plants and also provide some hearty richness to friends upon request. If you want any, let me know.

NYC Marathon '08

1352 1st Ave is Mile-maker 17 for the NYC Marathon, so our roof is a nice party pad for the race. Fresh off a World Series win, I was high on life, and this only made it even better.

One of the many reasons we like Dave...

Just asking for trouble...

From down on the street...

Who knows, maybe we'll do it again next year...